Question

If maternal and paternal chromatids have the same two alleles for every gene, will crossing over lead to genetic variation?

Short answer

When the maternal and paternal chromatids have identified two alleles for every gene, the crossing-over process will lead to recombination. This occurs due to the involvement of rearranged alleles.

When the exchange of genetic material takes place in the pachytene stage, recombinants are formed when there is a different arrangement of alleles on the same chromosome.

Step-by-step solution

Maternal and parental chromatids

Maternal chromatids come from the mother, while paternal chromatids come from the father. Each cell of the body has two sets of chromosomes. One of the sets of the chromosome is brought through the mother, and the father or male parent brings another set.

Alleles

There are two alleles in a gene. One of the alleles is obtained from each parent. When the organism has different alleles, the individual will be heterozygous, and if the alleles are the same, then the particular organism will be homozygous for a particular gene.

An example of an allele is blue eyes and brown eyes, while an example of the gene is eye color.

Genetic variations

When there are different alleles present on the homologous chromosomes, and the crossing over occurs between the maternal and paternal chromosomes, genetic variation takes place due to the exchange of genes in offspring.

When an individual has the same allele of a particular gene, then recombinants will have no variation.